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Greece Tourism: Can A Five Year Austerity Plan Change Human Nature to “Live Life”

It used to be that June was the Italian Families, July was the English and Swedes, August was for the German Households and September for the Rich Texas Brides and then, me. The summer in Greece and on their Islands in the Aegean Sea was the melting pot for the liberal exodus of Euro Travelers on extended holiday. Where were the Greeks then? Well, they were around but in those places that the rest knew not.

A recent Eurobarometer public opinion survey said seven out of 10 Greeks will be opting for a local holiday destination this summer. Tight budgets and austerity and the pinching of the retirement incomes, with more planned, has changed Greek tourist history: to that of belt tightened planning.

Further, Greek unions on Thursday called a two-day general strike next week to coincide with debate in Parliament on a fresh package of belt-tightening measures. Demonstrators in Syntagma Square, i.e., the “Times Square/Steps to White house of Athens” , who have occupied this space in front of the Greek Parliament building for about a month, are also planning a strong showing. A general strike set to take place next week is expected to once again paralyze the center. Greeks need to get away from this. Local travel is geared up with some special last minute deals at 50% discounts.

“…It is just over a year since Greece signed its 110-billion-euro bailout agreement. As the country continues to teeter on the edge of economic collapse and doubts about the viability of the euro persist, it is easy to forget that within this bigger picture there are little people paying the price. They are paying for the failures of their leaders. The pension law passed in Greece last year will raise the retirement age to 63.5 by 2015.

In her speech, Merkel also suggested that Greeks take too much time off work. But a study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting found that while there are big variations between holiday entitlements in the EU, the differences between Greece and Germanyare not that great. The report indicated that an employee in Greece with 10 years’ service will have a total of 37 days’ leave each year (12 of them public holidays) while his or her colleague in Germany will receive 33 days off (13 of them public holidays). Four days a year difference hardly seems like the greatest injustice within the eurozone, nor is it the cause of the downfall of the Greek economy.

The image of the undisciplined Greek loafer who fritters away the day doing nothing is proving useful for a number of European politicians, not just Merkel, but it is difficult to criticize them when the government inAthensis doing nothing to combat this image. If anything, it is allowing it to be cultivated — perhaps because Greece’s politicians feel that this way they have an alibi when they are unable to meet the targets set by the EU and the IMF. It is easier to blame economic and political shortcomings on social inadequacies or cultural traits rather than accept your own failure.

If the last year has taught us anything, it is that millions of Greeks, who want to be part of a modern, efficient country and a progressive EU, are trapped. They are caught between austerity measures that are choking the economy, politicians at a national and European level that lack courage and a state apparatus that is not fit for the 21st century. These people are crying out for a helping hand. Comments like those from Chancellor Merkel simply serve to beat them down.”